Detroit once became famous for and known as the “city of trees” with Judge Woodward’s plan for large tree lined boulevards. Grand Circus Park in 1909 looked like a forest. In recent years the city has been more focus on tree removal while nonprofits like Greening of Detroit have been attempting to replant what was lost to pests and the Dutch Elm tree disease.

Irregardless, Detroit still has many wonderful spots to enjoy the fall colors of Michigan’s native tree species. The maple is the easiest to spot with typical red coloring, followed by White Oak in orange and orange-red hues, and lastly a host of golden yellows from Aspen, Birch, Hickory, Coffeetree, and Gingkos. I’m very thankful that Dr. Dakota McCoy and team have created this cleaned up dataset from disparate sources.

The fall beauty does seem to be more easily found in Detroit’s historic and wealthier neighborhoods, but you can also find the fall colors along historic boulevards like Oakman Boulevard and Boston or Edison Avenues. There’s even a stretch of East Jefferson Avenue near Belle Isle with vibrant colors.

The neighborhoods near Detroit’s largest parks have the best viewing. Rouge Park can’t be missed and is a joy to follow the winding roads to view fall colors. Many of the neighborhoods of Northwest Detroit like Grandmont-Rosedale and even further northwest are full of changing color. Bagley, Palmer Woods, and Sherwood Forest are also nice drives for fall color. On the Eastside, East English Village takes the win. The southeast corner of Highland Park has a nice cluster of fall as well as the area south of Caniff and west of Jos Campau in Hamtramck.